Chiisana Koi no Uta (Our Little Love Song)
by delusionaldrawer
Summary: Taichi, Sora, and Yamato are all about to attend their final day in high school when the talk of second buttons, love confessions, and parting make them all reexamine the current standing of their relationships before it's too late. Loosely inspired by the JDrama Proposal Daisakusen or Operation Love. (Major Taiora AND Sorato, minor Koumi and Takari)


**DISCLAIMER: The English translation of the lyrics to Chiisana Koi no Uta I used in this story are a mix of David Toth's and BENI's. If you guys don't know this song, do look it up sometime. It's truly beautiful! My favorite versions are probably Koda Kumi's or Yui Aragaki's version! :)**

P.S. I originally tried to write this as a multi-chapter fic fashioned after Proposal Daisakusen.

Basically the premise is Tai is from the present, currently attending Sora and Yamato's wedding as the bestman. He's encountered a fairy who allowed him to time travel and relive certain snippets of his days with Sora, hoping to change the present as he tries his hardest to get his feelings known to her.

Tai, Sora and Matt are all just friends at this point in their lives, and Matt and Sora haven't dated in this universe.

* * *

Tai remembered how Matt, Izzy and him used to hold these rooftop meetings back in high school where they grouped up after school hours to catch up on "guy talk". The proposed topics ranged from soccer, Matt's band, Izzy's highly prolific (yet dubiously legal) day job and girls. The last part mostly involved him going on and on with his latest "exploit" while his two friends judge him very harshly for it.

Today's topic though was extra special as graduation was happening that weekend. The rumor of who's the lucky girl to receive Ishida Yamato's second button was the only thing the school's female population seemed to care about.

Yes, it was a huge blow to his pride when Matt easily upstaged his heartthrob status after his band took off. The girls literally threw themselves at him, much to the touch-phobic guy's dismay. It was actually funny seeing how his rise to stardom never got rid of that inherent wussiness he had going.

As of the moment another girl very rudely barged into their sacred fellowship ground as she cornered Matt into confessing her ardent love for him. Matt just shrugs at the girl who by now realized she won't be getting that prized button, bolts out the exit crying hysterically.

"Dude, that was the third chick this day. Are you sure you're not gay?"

"Why? Coz I'm not casually hooking up with every single girl who happens to like me?"

"By definition, yeah."

"Get your head out of your ass, Tai. I'm not _that_ kind of cheap."

" _Woah there_ , Mr. Idol. Excuse us mere mortals for not having impossibly high standards. Right Izzy?"

"Don't drag me into this, Tai. I happen to agree with Matt on this one. Why would he entertain some girl he doesn't have any interest in?"

"I dunno. To keep their delusional dreams of him as some kind of perfect being alive? Now I bet that chick's gonna tell the whole school what a huge dick you are."

"About damn time they figured that out." Matt deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"You know Matt there's a simple solution to your problem." Izzy proposed, immediately catching the blonde guy's hopeful attention.

"Just lose the freaking button already. It'll spare those girls the trip up here and more importantly restore peace to our sacred spot. I happen to be most productive when I listen to you two insult each other, not some girl bitch and whine."

"I _have_ considered that. Like tear it off and just walk around without it, but eh. I'm not exactly the best liar, if I get asked who I gave it to."

"Give it to, Sora. She'll be nice enough to do you a favor of pretending to keep it." Izzy said without missing a beat.

If Izzy was by any chance not glued to his computer then he would've seen how both Tai and Matt visibly flinched from their spot at the mention of that name. Tai immediately rose to his feet.

" _NO!_ No way! Anything but that! I won't allow that! Fuck no!"

Matt was now eyeing him suspiciously, while Izzy continued to type away at his laptop.

"I… uhm happened to be very protective of my best friend! That's like throwing her under the bus. I know she's athletic and all, but those bitches be crazy. They're sure to make her life a living hell if they thought Matt liked her. Right dude? You wouldn't do that to her. _Right_?" He threw Matt a threatening glare for good measure.

Matt sighed. "Yeah, I guess that would be unfair to her."

" _Perfect_. Now that that's out of the way." He grinned triumphantly. "Aren't you guys gonna ask me who _I'm_ giving mine to?"

Matt raised his brow at him. "Uh what are you talking about? You already gave yours."

 _He did?_

"I did?"

"Yeah you came to us yesterday squealing like a possessed _girl_ and did that eye burning victory dance."

"Hitomi-marry-me-wooh..." Izzy unenthusiastically recited what Tai assumed to be the cheer that came with said atrocious dance.

" _Okaaay_... One question: who's this 'Hitomi' again?"

Matt looked at Tai as if he's the scum of the earth while Izzy simply looked up from his computer screen then they looked at each other.

" _What the fuck?"_

* * *

Sora slammed her locker door shut.

It was her final day as a member of the school's tennis team, and they had just officially finished doing duty hand over to their juniors. She'll surely miss the competitive adrenaline rush that came with the weekly practices, but right now she couldn't be more happy that this would be their final meeting.

"Sora! Hey!"

 _Uh oh._

"Hi, Hitomi. Great work today out there today," she politely greeted.

"Thanks, you too!" The cheery girl beamed and skipped to her side. "So, are you heading home now? Do you mind if I talk with you for a sec?"

"Err…"

Frankly, she felt like such a bitch for low key avoiding Hitomi ever since Tai roped her into his elaborate scheme of confessing to the girl. Hitomi's the kind of girl who's sporty, and perky, and oh so pretty that half of the guys in their school probably had the hots for her at some point in their lives. Naturally, Tai, stupid and shallow as he was, was easily baited along with them.

She practically set them up herself. Getting the girl's number for him, telling them where to meet, and even stood there watching as Tai very smoothly (in his opinion) "floored" the girl (again, _his_ opinion) with his confession.

In Sora's eyes, what happened was Tai haphazardly presenting the confused girl with a closed fist and bluntly telling her to pry the damn thing out of his hand. She had to throw in her two cents that there was indeed a button in there, and that yes this was her stupid friend's way of confessing.

It was bad enough that Tai had the audacity to pull the best friend card on her. But she sure as hell didn't sign up to be some sort of personal messenger for Hitomi as well.

" _Yeaaah._ I actually have to run right now. Could this wait til tomorrow?"

"Oh, no! It wouldn't take that long, I promise! See there's this letter I was hoping to give your friend, but I thought I'd check with you first before I go embarrass myself out there."

Man, was this girl persistent! This was, what now, the _third_ consecutive time she cornered her on her way home?

Wait. What's that about a letter?

Sora found herself face-to-face with a bright pink envelope, and her mind went on a complete meltdown.

* * *

"Do yourself a favor and don't _ever_ mention this 'memory lapse' to Sora." Matt very irritably chided.

"Typical. I'd expected this outcome the exact moment she became a done deal. Based on past experience, girls like these tend to hold his interest as long as the chase was still on."

" _Stellar_ _observation_ , Izzy. Treat yourself to an oolong for that." Matt added.

"Uhm. _Ouch?_ I thought this was a safe space to discuss my interests and not be judged by my brothers."

Izzy shuts his laptop and looks him dead in the eye. "This does not fall under 'interests', Tai. This is a problem. _You have a problem._ "

"Okay, now you're overreacting. So what? It's just a button, I have tons of those back at home. I can easily rip one off and give it to another girl."

"And he wonders why we call him a sleazebag," Matt sarcastically applauded his best friend's logic.

But Izzy wasn't done. "No Tai, it's not _just_ a button. It's you going to war on a kamikaze unit not expecting to return in one piece, so you leave this button to your beloved in hopes that she remembers you."

" _The hell?_ You totally pulled that out of your ass!"

"Nope, it's true. I just looked it up," Matt said rather impressed as he scrolls through his phone.

"That's right. I know these things. Because unlike you, I happen to respect tradition. And I'll only partake in it, if I'm dead serious on pursuing this girl."

Tai never pictured Izzy to be the more harshly judgmental one regarding this topic. Matt would throw a snide remark here and there, but he more or less didn't give a shit about his exploits. Izzy, on the other hand, seems legitimately offended on how lightly he took this whole confession business.

"If it's as easy as that, then you're doing it wrong. You don't just give it to the most 'desired' girl in our school. That's like selecting the most generic choice for the heck of it. Level with me, Tai. Is there _literally_ no one else you can think of who rightfully deserves that button you just gave?"

Tai bit his lip. _Of course there was._ There had only ever been one, and yet he had been too blind to see it until it was too late. Much like now. Much like the _present_ he's desperately trying to undo.

Tai was about to open his mouth when Matt cut in. "You sound like you've given this some serious thought, Izzy. Do you have someone in mind for next year?"

"I _do_ have someone in mind. But for reasons that escape my control, I won't be able to give it to her even if I wanted to."

"Why's that? Is she transferring?"

"Yeah... I guess you could say that."

Tai is startled by this tiny piece of information. _This was new development._ Izzy never mentioned anything about confessing to a girl, not in the past nor in the succeeding years they've known each other. In fact, present-day Izzy has remained single all his life.

He thinks he _did_ once hear him mention having a crush on a girl. His poor friend came to his house freaking out, declaring he was losing his greatest asset (his mind). After subduing Izzy's mental breakdown by practically drugging him with his favorite oolong tea, he spent the day coaching the young boy on how they, hot-blooded males, would deal with these unwanted feelings for the female species.

Not once did Izzy name the girl, and Tai didn't think it to be serious enough for him to tease the already flabbergasted kid. Although if by any chance this happened to be the same girl, then maybe he should've paid way more attention in the past.

"Who's the girl, Izzy?" Tai pressed on.

"None of your business, Tai." Izzy sneered.

"Okay. Fine. Be that way. I bet Matt and I can figure it out ourselves. What do we have so far?"

"She's on his grade and she's transferring." Matt offered.

"Hmm... That's tough. I don't know many people from your grade to begin with. In fact, out of your whole batch, the only ones I know would be you and Mimi."

At the mention of that name Izzy visibly jerked and immediately flared up. Matt spends a long moment observing Izzy's reaction, then he snapped his fingers and pointed at the guilty party. " _No. Fucking. Way._ "

"DAMMIT! It's impossible to guess!"

Matt facepalmed. "Tai."

"I'd have to consult with my soccer juniors, if they heard any gossip regarding this perfect girl you've got your big brain all wrapped up with."

"It's Mimi." Matt pointed out. "He likes _Mimi_ ," he reiterated for Tai's benefit.

" _WHAT?! MIMI?! AS IN THE SAME GIRL WHO USED TO THINK SHE'S A LONG LOST PRINCESS AND SLAVED US AROUND TO DO HER EVERY BIDDING?_ "

Izzy now also slapped his palm in his face, with every purpose of covering his blushing redness.

'That's…. _interesting_ ," Matt not-so-subtly expressed his concern over Izzy's degrading sanity by those two words alone.

"HOW DO WE NOT KNOW THIS, IZZY!?"

" _BECAUSE!_ _This_ is exactly how I'd picture you two _morons_ would react! That said, this vital piece of information better not leave our sacred soil."

" _Uh_ _yeah it will,_ " Tai scoffed. "You're so telling her, dude."

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE, TAI? Did you not hear what I just said?! Not a single soul is to know about this!"

"Well, you practically told us you _wanted_ to do it next year. So why not now, when she's still, you know, _here_?" Matt countered.

" _Really now? This_ is the one thing you two knuckleheads happened to agree on?"

"Yeah, Izzy, we're here to help you, man. Oh, and you know who else would be more than happy to help?"

"NO! NO, TAI! I forbid you to mention any of this to Sora! This is strictly guy business only."

"But Sora's a _dude!_ And she happens to be BFFs with Mimi. She's a valuable asset to our team!"

"Pretty sure she's not a dude, Tai," Matt deadpanned.

"NOT. A. SOUL. YOU. SONS. OF. SUBMARINERS!" Izzy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Did he just call us assholes in geek speak?" Matt commented amusedly.

" _Fine._ No Sora. But we're doing this! Even if it means we have to be extra resourceful ourselves!" Tai threw his fist in the air. "Gather up brothers! I hereby declare operation 'Get Izzy A 3D Waifu' in full swing motion!"

Matt immediately raised his hand. "Pass."

" _What?_ Fuck you, Matt! Don't you wanna contribute to your friend's happiness?"

Matt nonchalantly stood on his feet and slung his bass across his shoulder. "Tai, you know me too well. Normally I'd be all up with supporting your unrelenting enthusiasm for butting into other people's business."

Tai shoots him a weirded out look.

"But now just happens to be a bad time with our band finalizing practice for graduation night's performance. Plus given _who_ we're dealing with I think you're far more seasoned to withstand whatever physical or mental torture that comes with this kooky brand of 'happiness'."

Matt turns to face the other guy who's still blushing as red as a tomato. "No offense, man."

Izzy gives Matt a solid thumbs up, signalling that he was good to go.

* * *

Sora's standing in line outside one of the newly opened brunch parlours in Venus Fort Mall. The crowd before her were mostly comprised of what she assumed to be young couples on dates or gal pals who were out on a girl date like what she and Mimi had meticulously planned for that weekend.

She found herself once again staring at the shelves of intricately decorated plastic food displayed by the window, most of which were hundreds of varieties of parfaits. She unconsciously began fishing for her phone in her pocket about to give her friend an extremely hunger-induced sermon of where the hell she was when someone suddenly called her name.

Sora turned to see a casually dressed Kari walking side by side with TK. "Hey Kari, TK, I see you two are here to try this place too?"

TK was the one who answered. "Well, that was the plan, but seeing this line is somewhat giving me a sudden craving for Mos Burgers again..."

"Yeah, I had no idea we should've gotten a reservation beforehand..." Kari said disappointingly.

Sora looked between the two then something clicked. "Hold on. Are you guys on a date?"

" _Nope._ " A third voice answered behind her. Sora turned to see a very bored Matt staring straight at her.

"At least that's what Tai said, when he bribed me into chaperoning these two today." His gaze shifted to see the crowd before her. "What about you? You do realize you're the only single person standing in line right?"

" _Yeah,_ about that. Actually why don't you two stick around while I call my date who may or may not have stood me up." She mumbled and once again fishes for her phone.

"Is this Tai?" Kari was quick to ask.

" _No_ —"

"—Coz I think he's out with Mimi today."

Her hand froze. _"...What?"_

"Yeah he got up extra early today and said he's meeting her in Disneyland. Told us not to wait up on him for dinner."

"Uhm what? Hey Matt, do _you_ know anything about this? _"_

Matt was doing his very best impression of finding the floor extremely interesting at that particular moment.

"No. Not a clue," he answered swiftly, clearly indicating that he did know something.

Sora sighed defeatedly. " _Ugh._ Well, so much for that. I guess two reservations just freed up then. Kari, you and TK can have our slot."

"Oh but no, Sora. We can't possibly do that!" said Kari.

"No, I insist," countered Sora. "Besides at this rate, it's either you two take it, or I binge eat the hell out of those parfaits."

Matt stifles a laugh, and Sora glares at him at the corner of her eye. TK being the more tactful of the brothers then decided to intervene.

"Hey I know! Matt, why don't you join poor Sora here and talk about what a huge bastard Tai is."

Did she say tactful again?

"TK… That's my _brother_..." Kari muttered under her breath.

"Do you wanna get rid of him or not." TK very audibly whispered, through gritted teeth.

"I heard the parfaits here are great!" Kari beamed cheerfully before TK dragged her to what's probably the direction to the nearest Mos Burgers, leaving the two bewildered friends on their own.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't make it?!" Tai screamed at his phone. "You said you didn't have any plans this Sunday!"

"I didn't, for literally a minute ago. But like I said my colleague blew up something in production. Now we're basically counting down to a time bomb before my boss in America wakes up and figures out some idiot just dropped all his security tables with no backup."

Tai pries his phone from his ear and stares at the caller ID to confirm if he's still taking to the same guy. "WHAT?!" he shouts back.

" _Exactly, Tai._ I'm so glad you understand."

"No, Izzy! You don't get it. I only agreed to meet you guys in Disneyland, because I was under the impression that _you're_ paying! Do you have any idea how much these entrance tickets cost for _adults_?" He glared at the signs on top of the ticket booth as the parents and children in line all looked strangely at him.

"Err… At least Mimi can pass up as an overgrown child...?" Izzy offered.

"Holy shit, dude. You don't happen to think... It's not beneath her to... make _me_ pay for _everything..._ do you?"

Izzy fell silent on the other end of the line.

Tai once again broke into panic. "Oh god, Izzy! I'm not you. I don't rule America with an iron fist!"

"Then use a credit card or something, I promise to pay you back as soon as I can."

"Hell yeah you will. This is supposed to be a goddamn investment for your future. Not mine!"

Tai heard a long beep and looked at his phone to confirm that Izzy just hanged up on him.

This day is totally not starting on a good note, and given he's yet to enter those pastel gates. He can only expect things to get worse from there.

* * *

"So... Big brother patrol huh? Sorry you're stuck with me now. Those two can be very adorable yet conniving at the same time."

"Well, it was either this or another horror movie." Then he realized his mistake. "N-Not that I'm comparing you to a horror movie. Unless you like those, then yeah. Coz I don't. I mean— Erm..."

 _Fuck. Why is this so hard? It's just Sora. You've had lunch with her before. Of course, never at this type of bubbly effeminate hell for sure. Get your shit together and focus on the food, Ishida!_

"Hey this might sound weird, but what's up with those two anyway? Tai makes it a point to change the subject every time I ask him. Maybe you're more open on sharing?"

"If you mean are they dating, then no. They're just best friends at least according to TK."

"Ah," she paused and nodded once. " _I see._ "

"You don't sound so convinced," he furrowed his brows at her.

"I didn't say anything," she shrugs.

"Your face did. You think there's something going on in there?"

"Well, I'm no expert in the subject, but I think _she_ likes him at least."

" _Really._ You're sensing this from _Kari_ and not TK?"

"Hmm how do I put this delicately... TK has grown to be quite the _ladies man_. I find it harder to determine if he's just being 'nice' in general, or if he's being _extra_ 'nice' exclusively to her."

"Did you just call my brother a huge flirt? Coz I'm not even gonna contest that. He really is."

Sora laughs at him. "Glad we're on the same page then."

"Fair enough, so why Kari?"

"Kari tends to act more reserved around everyone else _except_ for TK. She's like this whole other person when she's with him. She's a little more snarky, a little more judgmental, and _yeah_ she sometimes caters to the flirting. It's like she's at ease with being herself."

"Isn't that how you'd normally act around your best friend though? I've seen you act that way around Tai, and _you're_ not in love with him. _Unless—_ " He smirked at her, happy she brought up a topic he had long been highly interested in. "You _are_ an expert on this after all, and you're currently speaking based on life experience."

"Oh god, no. I know what you're thinking. But no. Tai and I are different."

" _Sure._ " He nodded at her in amusement.

"You don't sound so convinced," she said teasingly parroting his words back at him.

"Why don't you convince me then? Based on what you just said about Kari how are you any different? You and Tai are _way more_ 'at ease' around each other than those two are by the way. They don't... hug as much."

"Pfft. Hugging is nothing, Matt. I can easily hug a complete stranger."

"Not to me. That's reserved for people whom I share a connection with."

" _I_ _know_. You've earned quite the reputation with your fans for being too 'hypersensitive'," she smirked deviously at him.

He rolled his eyes at that. " _Anyway,_ answer the question. How are you different from Kari?"

She sighed defeated, realizing he wouldn't be dropping the subject without a proper answer from her. "Let's just say, I'm not entirely myself around Tai."

The waiter stepped in and laid two plates on the table. Sora casually reached out to pull a pair of chopstick and began rubbing them together to remove the splinters. All done in the process of pretending he didn't hear what she said. He decided to let her have this one and tried a different approach.

"So it doesn't bother you at all that he's out with Mimi today?" He purposely didn't mention Izzy's involvement in their little play date to drive his point.

" _Nooo."_ She answered matter-of-factly, increasing the friction on her chopsticks.

"The same way it doesn't bother you that he confessed to that other girl last week."

She stopped her actions completely. Her expression instantly soured and she glared at him.

He smirked victoriously at her.

Gently she put down her chopsticks and forcibly pulled a plate in front of her. "I'm gonna be needing this."

* * *

"Here. Just take the damn thing already!" He extended his hand towards the all dolled up girl who was now cosplaying a rather irritated Sleeping Beauty.

Mimi angrily folded her arms in her seat and pouted. " _VANILLA?!_ Could you possibly be any more boring, Tai?! Did you not pay attention to a word I just said?! I explicitly ordered a triple Oreo strawberry cheesecake topped with extra sprinkles and chocolate chip and strawberry syrup and—"

Tai starts to dangerously tilt the ice cream on top of blabbering girl's plastic tiara. "Going once, Going twice—"

"EUGH! Fine! I'll take your sorry excuse of an ice cream." She grabs the cone from him as he sat next to her in the park bench.

" _You're_ a sorry excuse of a princess," he mutters under his breath. "OW! WATCH IT!" She violently jabbed him in the ribs with her complementary scepter. "Dammit Mimi, if you're this pissed then how about _you_ _buy_ it yourself next time?!"

"Oh relax. I was just messing with you." She stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. "Trust me. My expectations of you have been set _excruciatingly low_ throughout the years all thanks to Sora."

" _What?!_ What the hell has she been telling you about me?"

"Oh you know how you're the cheapest guy who has ever graced this planet. I can't wait to see the look on her face, once she hears I actually got you to buy me… _this._ " She cringed at the ice cream that she's still regarding very disapprovingly.

"Well unlike _you_ , Sora's not a brat," he shot back. "She has the moral decency of paying for her own stuff."

" _Interesting_. I always hear her nag about this guy who never orders his own food only to end up leeching off hers. _Hm,_ do you have any idea who that rude jerk is?" Mimi eyed him knowingly.

"I'm her best friend. Suck it up. That right there is the true testament of our friendship."

"Oh Tai, just because she's nice to you doesn't mean you can treat her like a complete doormat. And FYI, _I'm_ her best friend—"

" _Me_ treating Sora like a doormat? And this is coming _you_ , of all people, the girl who _lives_ for bossing us around?!"

"As. I. Was. Saying. _YES._ You're being very mean to her, you inconsiderate jerk! And _I,_ her one true bestie, shall do my very best to shoo away scum like you from my dear friend's life," she pointed her scepter dangerously close to his eyeball. He casually swatted it away.

"Ha! Tough luck with that. I've known Sora since we're seven, and we've been inseparable to this day. I doubt one high maintenance girl with a gigantic princess complex will be able to tear us apart that easily," he childishly retorted.

"Well, you're not with her _now_ are you?" Her evil smirk made him squint his eyes warily at what the diabolical girl was implying. "Last I checked, she's having the most wonderful time with Matt."

" _MATT?!"_

"Why yes, Tai, your _other_ best friend, oh dear are you by any chance jealous?" she leered at him, wagging her painted eyebrows suggestively.

"You think _I'm_ scum, and you push her to guys like _Matt_?! I mean I love the dude on my good days, BUT HAS ALL THAT SUGAR PERMANENTLY DAMAGED YOUR BRAIN?!"

"What's wrong with Mr. Idol? You gotta admit he's quite pleasing to the eyes. Plus, he sings _, very well_ I might add _,_ and this is coming from me, your resident karaoke queen. The best _you_ can do is robotically chant lyrics like a poem."

"Gross, Mimi. I never pegged you to be one of those crazy chicks who worshiped his every stride."

" _ME?!_ Puh-leaze, Tai. Not _my_ type," she rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "He's broody and angsty and constantly scowling at everything and not to mention a huge dick to all the girls at school."

" _THANK YOU!_ " he shouted triumphantly. More than anything, he sure is relieved to hear _that_ for Izzy's sake.

" _But_. And this is according to Sora not me, I believe the word she used to describe him was _'sweet'_."

He almost spat out his ice cream at her blindingly pink frilly dress. "I _literally_ just threw up in my mouth."

" _I know right!_ " Mimi chirped in glee, totally ignoring his disgusted face. "If he happens to be genuinely nice to her, then I'm all for him. _Unlike you_ ," then she glared at him menacingly under all that thick makeup. "Lately all I'm hearing from her is what a grade A jerk you are."

He blinked at that. Momentarily distracted by the fact that this infuriating girl he just _generously_ spend his hard earned cash on turned out to be against him and pro Matt. "Huh? Why's that? What did I do this time?"

"What indeed, _Tai._ " She widened her eyes at him, flicking her threateningly long dark fake lashes to intimidate him.

"Seriously, she's upset with me? But I haven't even seen her. How could I have possibly pissed her off, if I'm not even there?"

Mimi sighed and shook her head at the hopeless guy next to her. "Maybe that's exactly the problem."

* * *

Okay, admittedly this was on him.

It started off as rather amusing. Now his ears are beginning to bleed thanks to the extensive, colorful vocabulary Sora was using to describe Tai and this girl in the past thirty minutes.

It was evident that he had unwittingly unleashed an overflowing dam of repressed emotions. Undoubtedly, this was the whole point of these girl dates she had with Mimi. Since she couldn't rant to Tai about Tai, here he was now having this "date" with her as her substitute gal pal of the day.

"And get this, Matt! Yesterday the skank came up to me and asked me to hand over her freaking love letter to jerkface. Like what the hell am I, her slave? Seriously, the nerve of these people!"

"Uhm…" he thought of what Mimi would say in response to that. "That bitch." He guessed.

"I know right! And you know the _saddest_ part?"

"You, eating my order," he finally blurted.

" _What?"_ she covers her mouth and looks at her plate. "Oh god! Why didn't you say anything? I'm so sorry!" she immediately stopped eating and scrutinized the remainder of the food. "On the bright side, you're welcome some idiot put a tub of lard in this thing. It's disgusting."

"I _very_ explicitly ordered extra mayo."

Sora looks at him as if he's being insane. "Mayo... in your omurice? Seriously, Matt? _Ew_."

" _What?_ It's good. And tell that to your plate." She noticed she has eaten it half way already while being so engrossed with her Tai rants. Peering at him in shame, she took a huge gulp of her water and continued to eat in silence. He decided to alleviate the awkwardness by picking up where she left off.

"So what's the 'saddest part'?"

She looked at him quizzically at first not understanding what he was talking about, then she realized that he had been listening to her after all. "Oh that. Well, these days the only reason jerkface finds the time to talk to me is when he needs me for my wingman duties."

He blinked at that. "Wait, by 'jerkface' you mean Tai?"

" _Yep_. Keep up, Matt."

"I didn't know you guys weren't talking."

" _Of course you don't_." she snidely replied. "You're part of the elitist brotherhood that kicked me out of the roof deck."

"That's ridiculous. No one banned you from joining us. You stopped showing up."

"Coz you guys stopped inviting me. Besides all you guys ever talk about is which girl to bang."

"Hey, watch it right there. I take offense on you lumping me with Tai in that sentence."

She sighed. "Fine, I guess you're not that bad compared him."

" _Only when compared to him?_ " he blurted harshly before he could stop himself.

She suddenly regained her senses at his bluntness. "N-No. Of course not! I didn't mean it that way. You're great actually. _You're really great, Matt!_ I don't know why I'm being so mean to you for no reason."

He bit the inside of his mouth to stop himself from accidentally saying anything else he wasn't meant to.

"I should be thanking you for being nice enough to join me today. It's good to get to talk to you again like this. I guess it's not just Tai whom I haven't been speaking with lately."

"Well, I really miss having you around those meetings whether you believe me or not."

She smiled at him genuinely. "We can hold an exclusive one-on-one right now. Catch up on life in general. I'll start. Tell me why you want to become an astronaut."

He had to give her credit for not bursting into a fit of laughter when she said that. Literally everyone whom he'd shared his career choice with had at one point laughed at his face. His fucking _best friend_ , Tai, to this day still couldn't keep a straight face whenever the topic comes up.

"Really? You're not gonna judge me for picking something a kid would write in his childhood dream essay?" He challenged.

" _No._ I happen to think it's an admirable job, and a _very_ bold choice on your part. To be able to look past the generic expectations of our society on your future. I wish I also had it in me to dream big."

"Fashion school counts as dreaming big."

"Nah. At the end of the day, it's me being practical. I always thought I'd have to pick something related to the family business you know. And given my hopeless track record in flower arrangement which you also know, majoring in traditional oriental fashion seems to be the next best thing."

"I see. That's sounds reasonable considering you."

" _Really?_ You think so? My mom was pretty shocked when she first heard it. I think she's under the impression that I don't _dress_ the part."

"What does your creativity have to do with the way you choose to present yourself? You dress perfectly fine to me."

She blushed at his words which also made him blush and look away.

"You _are_ really nice. You're always so sweet."

"I wouldn't go that far," he muttered, still not facing her.

"No, I'm serious! I don't know how you do it actually. After all the fame and the girls, it's bound to get into your head somehow. But not you. You're still very... _Matt_."

He chuckled at that description. "Well don't go on telling people in the campus. I'm hard in the works of building up this jerkass image. Don't ruin all my effort by saying shit like that."

She laughed at him. "Sure thing. If you want I'll even throw them off your scent by spreading the rumor that you're secretly into me."

He choked on her words, and pounded his chest to steady himself. "H-Huh?"

"I mean it's a lie _obviously_ , but I understand how stressful it can get. I've got my hands full servicing this _one girl,_ and she's driving me up the wall. What more if they came in a cult?"

"N-No… That would be inconsiderate. But thanks... anyway."

She shrugs. "Okay, your call. Just saying, you're more than welcome to pull the friend card too, if you need my help."

 _The_ _friend_ _card. Of course._

That's exactly why he won't be doing it. Even if by some miracle he mustered the courage to give her that damn button, all she'll ever think was that it was done out of _friendship._

* * *

Tai is sitting dejectedly on a spinning teacup with his eyes closed and his arms propped up the rim. His brain had gone through far too many revolutions to process just how long he's been in that uncomfortable position.

Mimi took a deep breath and sighed audibly. "Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Tai, you're not my type."

Tai blinked at the girl sitting across him. "Uhm what? Where's this coming from?"

"I mean you're great and all, but I think I can do better," she went on without missing a beat.

"Hold it, princess. I think we're both on the wrong page here."

"And by better, I mean _so. much. better,_ " she dictated emphasizing every single word in his face. "In fact I just agreed to go out with you cause you said Izzy would show, and he hardly comes out of his room, but then he didn't, and I should've known better, coz you obviously lied to steal a date out of me, you lying piece of—!"

"Okay! Okay! Stop right there!" Tai raised his hands in retaliation. "First of all, Izzy _was_ supposed to show, and secondly no I didn't trick you to extort a date out of you! I don't even like you!"

"EXCUSE ME?!" Mimi glowered at him threateningly, and Tai could've sworn he saw smoke come out of her nose.

"I mean ' _that way'_! I don't like you that way! Please don't stab me with your heels! Think of the kids around us!" He shielded his face with his arms, awaiting some flying projectile to hit him any moment now. When nothing happened, he heard her sigh once more.

"Oh well... I guess you'll do… I am pretty desperate here after all." He peeks at her and sees her mellow down looking in the distance, currently acting very not Mimi-like.

"Tai, don't you ever feel jealous of Izzy?"

"Hmm. Never thought of that. Let's see, he's a whiz who's earning buck loads of money despite not having any degree. He could probably skip uni altogether and go straight to ruling the world. Huh, I guess I am kind of jealous of him."

Mimi chuckles at his uninhibited response. "He's lucky, you know, being one of those who has everything figured out at this age. And so are you, Tai. You've been playing soccer all your life and Sora's mentioned you've been offered scholarship by Tokyo uni to play in their big time soccer team. And Joe, who's practically been studying to be a doctor since grade school. I mean grade school, really? Who thinks that far ahead? All I ever wanted then was to be as pretty as Sailor Moon."

"Erm maybe you're in the wrong theme park then..?"

"I'm serious, Tai!" she exclaimed, her voice gaining momentum once more. "I don't know what I should be doing with my life. I mean my family's moving to a completely different country at the end of the year, and all this uncertainty about my own future is suddenly piling up with the extra bonus of the language barrier and the fact that none of my friends will be there!"

"That's…" Admittedly, despite having a baby sister and a best friend who was a girl, Tai was no expert on women, especially highly distraught ones. "That's tough… I had no idea you're this worried, Mimi."

"Well of course I'm worried! I just try to be as cheerful as I could possibly be. I'd like to spend my last days here cherishing the things that brings me the most joy rather than sulking, so I'd have happy memories to look back to when I'm far away from home."

"Did you ever mention this to Sora? If there's any of us who's always on top of things, it's that girl," he offered.

"Oh Tai, with that statement alone I think we've just officially settled who her true best friend is."

That caught him off guard. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do you honestly think Sora is this all powerful being who always has everything figured out? Why in the world do you think I'd rather be talking to _you_ instead of her right now?"

"Well..." He honestly drew a blank finding an answer to that.

 _Why, indeed._

"Sora… She's always listened to me, you know, even when I'm acting all petty and obnoxious over the tiniest problems. Somehow she'd make it a case to add all my baggage on top of her already imploding one. I just know that even after I'm oceans away she'd still check up on me. I don't want to burden her this time anymore, especially now when she's going through the exact same thing."

"Oh come on, Mimi. I'm sure Sora doesn't think of you as a burden."

"She doesn't, but I do! She's going through so much change herself. Do you know she's moving to Kyoto next month?"

He nodded solemnly. If he could pinpoint a time in their lives when they truly grew apart, it was when Sora moved to Kyoto. At that time it was a natural thing, he figured. After all the Sora whom he knew from childhood was a far cry from the Sora who now wanted to pursue fashion design for a living.

It was inevitable for their paths to go separate ways when their interests stopped coinciding.

People simply _change_.

They grow up.

They stop being children.

They stop being _childhood friends_.

Is that what happened to them? Was their friendship something that after all didn't stand the test of time, something temporary that has long passed it's expiry date? Something that couldn't surmount the growing distance between them?

 _No._

He can blame it to the technicalities of it all, but the moment they truly grew apart was when they stopped trying. The moment they stopped being there for each other.

For they were not childhood friends.

They were the best of friends.

They were Taichi and Sora.

And the only moment they stop being friends is the moment they stopped being _themselves_.

"Hey Mimi, for what it's worth. I think you do deserve to be Sora's best friend." Mimi's glassy eyes blinked at him questioningly. "You've managed to pull her idiot self-proclaimed best friend out of his ignorance of her issues."

Mimi genuinely smiled at him then. "Oh Tai… You'll look out for her when I'm not around will you? I know she gets naggy a lot, but she only does it because she cares, and she always really did care especially for you."

"I know that, and of course I will." Then he threw her his trademark Taichi smile. "Hey, tell you what I'll make sure you end your days here on a high note too. Let's strike a deal and meet up again tomorrow after the ceremony okay?"

Mimi groaned. "Oh god are you planning on giving me your second button? I already said I'm sorry for giving you the wrong impression, but I'm not into you!"

"Uh. No," he furrowed his brows at her in disbelief. "That's not what I was trying to say. _Like. At. All._ " he reiterated but Mimi was no longer listening.

"I know I said I was desperate but not enough to stoop _this_ low!"

Tai threw his hands out in exasperation. "OH MY GOD, MIMI! Just show up tomorrow okay!?"

" _DUH,_ " Mimi laughed at him, wiping her tears at the corner of her eyes. "It's my very best friend's last day in high school. You bet your cheap ass I'll be there, Yagami Taichi!"

* * *

The sun was about to set when Matt and Sora found their way walking along the pavement overlooking Odaiba bay. Sora's phone buzzed for the nth time that day.

" _Hmm._ "

"Your mom already looking for you?"

"Nah. Just Mimi giving me live updates of her wonderful date with Tai. Apparently our ever _courteous_ best friend actually paid for her ice cream."

"Big whoop."

"Heh _._ I've known the cheap bastard since I was seven, and not once did he ever treat me. Not even to get water from the vendo, when I was dying of dehydration."

"And here I thought you didn't care."

" _I don't._ Let me just casually reply that I hope he gets diarrhea from all that dairy intake."

He laughed at her vengeful pettiness. "You know if you wanted some, you could've just asked nicely. No need to go all passive aggressive on our best friend's digestive tract."

Sora smiled at him and dragged him to the nearest ice cream stall. He asked her what she wanted and handed the bill to the counter before she could dig up her purse. He told she could just pay him later much like what he said in the restaurant when he paid for their bill.

Sora giddily eyed the gravity defying swirl of Neapolitan colors he handed to her, took a bite in it, then stood closer to him, carefully extending the cone near his mouth. "Want some?"

His face immediately heated up. "U-Uhm…" She's close enough for him to see the strands of her lashes as she blinked at him expectedly. "Errr… I…"

Sora's face then also suddenly flushed in color and her hand recoiled. " _Oh._ Sorry. Force of habit. You must think I'm really disgusting huh?"

"What?"

She avoided his gaze as she spoke. "I'm so used to playing sports with all the boys, and it's not uncommon for us to drink from one bottle, which is gross I guess when you think about it—"

"No!" he uncharacteristically shouted causing her to stop talking and meet his eyes once more.

"No. That's not what I… I mean— Here." He gently clasped his hand around hers that's still carefully cradling the cone. Bringing it closer to his face, he lowered his mouth to take a bite in it. His face was so warm he was probably melting the rest of the dessert by his proximity alone.

If he chose to look at her at that moment he would've realized that she's not faring much better than him. Sora blinked at him and her cheeks matched the color of her hair as she continued to watch him in awe. She was silent the entire time. Even when he released her hand and she clutched the cone possessively once more, all she could do was stare at it as it melted before her eyes.

He cleared his throat and decided to say something— anything really. "So uh is your dad gonna be attending tomorrow?"

That snapped her out of her trance as she began walking again next to him. "N-No. He wasn't able to book a ticket on time. Must be grad season there too."

"Oh, so just your mom then?"

"Actually there's this big time ikebana competition on the same day. She's like this guest of honor judge, you know iemoto stuff. So, no, I wouldn't count on that either."

She must've noticed how he's giving her a pitiful look by now. "But Mimi volunteered to be my proxy mom! I gave her one of my tickets. What about you? Your dad's coming right?"

"Nah."

"Ah. No breaks from the newsroom huh."

"Not really. Just didn't tell him about it."

Sora reaches out for his arm stopping him in his tracks. "Are you telling me he doesn't even know his son is graduating tomorrow? Matt, why not?!"

"Eh. It's just for formality's sake anyway. He'd be _so bored_. I'm actually doing him a favor. TK says he'll be there to accompany Kari mostly, so technically I'd still have someone cheering for me when I go up the stage."

"Right. I actually gave my extra ticket to Tai, so he can bring Kari. That's so nice of her wanting to sit through the whole thing for her brother."

"That's so nice of _you_. I _sold_ mine to Tai."

"What? Why in the world would Tai be needing so many tickets? Is he planning to bring his whole clan or something? And shame on you for profiting off your best friend!" she mockingly hits him.

"Not my fault he's desperate. You should thank him by the way. Today's date was pretty much sponsored by him."

She stopped dead in her tracks. He continued to pace in a carefree manner a couple of steps ahead of her before his brain suddenly hit the rewind button, realizing what he just blurted out. He turns to face her blushing, unsure state.

"Uhm… Is _this_ a date?"

"Erm... I don't know… Maybe?"

"Well... you didn't technically ask me out—"

"—No, I just happened to bump into you."

"Exactly... when I got stood up and all—"

"—And we just happened to spend the whole day together," he finished.

"Right. So I'm guessing...no ...then?"

"Y-Yeah. ...Sounds right." He cleared his throat. "Although if it was, I have to say this is easily the _worst_ date of my life. "

He watched her whole face shift to a horrified expression. "What?! What did I do wrong?"

He smirked, regaining his confidence and slowly walked back to where she was glued on the spot. "Let's see… For starters, you ate my order."

" _Wow_ , you're not gonna let that go are you."

"You kept talking about this other guy, who I still think you're in love with."

"I'm not!"

"Eh the jury's still out on that one."

"You're the one who keeps bringing him up!"

"You went on a tirade of rants about this chick."

"Well, don't get me started again!"

"And your biggest sin." Pausing for dramatic effect, he stood now facing her and puts his hand on her shoulder. "You think mayo in eggs is gross."

"IT. IS. DISGUSTING! WHO PUTS LARD IN THEIR EGGS!" She screamed and threw her hands out in frustration that people paused to stare at them.

He was laughing so hard both hands now hugging his stomach, struggling to get his next words out. "That right there." He pointed at her, still shaking from laughter. "Total turn-off."

She blinked at him. She should probably be more concerned about how her friend is currently losing his shit in public, but right now all she could do was stare. She never knew Matt could laugh so hard he was practically in tears. If he wasn't laughing at her expense, she'd think it was kinda cute even. She blushed at that thought and only then noticed the crowd around them getting bigger.

" _You're_ a total turn-off!" she countered obviously too late for the desired impact and hastily brisk walked away from the scene.

* * *

He was quick to catch up to her, still recovering his bearing after that insane fit of laughter. "Hey, relax I was just messing with you."

She was still refusing to face him. "...Was I really that bad though?"

"Nah. You were..."

 _Perfect._

"Alright."

 _Best date ever._

"Plus, I wouldn't have paid for it anyway, if it was such a nightmare."

That snapped her out of her irritation. "You didn't have to do that." Tone no longer joking. "Seriously, Matt, and to think you weren't even having a good time! Ugh! How much do I owe you again?" She starts fishing for her purse.

"Hey, put that away. Told you it's Tai's money, so no big. And if you're so guilt ridden by it, you can just pay for the next one." He mentally kicked himself. _What the fuck was wrong with him!_ He just kept blurting out stupid words around her.

That had a certain ring to her.

 _The next one?_

A number of images flashed through her mind before she shut it down completely.

"Sure. If you ever find yourself in Kyoto, I can be your guide."

"Right, you're moving there."

"Yeah, gonna be living with my Dad for once."

"If he's anything like my Dad, then I bid you the best of luck."

Sora didn't know why she didn't want this conversation to end. He walked her to her door and all she had to do was say goodnight but she keeps talking. She realized Matt bringing up his dad might be sending her a message that he needs to get home. _Now._

"Well, he must be looking for you. You should be on your way."

"Actually I just got word that he won't be home tonight so…"

He didn't know where he was going with this. She's clearly sending him a message to take a hike with that last line. Great, now she thinks he must be very lonely and desperate for company.

"So… more time for me to practice for tomorrow's gig." Okay that sounded a little less pathetic.

"Of course! Knife of Day's grand final performance. Hard to imagine it's all gonna be over tomorrow."

"Yeah it is…"

"Well you better nail it then. Gotta make sure we end this chapter of our lives with no regrets!"

"Night, Sora."

"Good night, Matt."

She's so used to hugging Tai when he walks her home. She didn't even pause to remember how he wasn't a huge fan of people touching him. She immediately felt him flinch from her touch. Feeling terrible for her blatant invasion of his space, she slowly and awkwardly began to recoil from him, when she felt his arms wrap around her back, holding her in place far too long from the normal goodnight hugs she's used to.

* * *

The door shut behind him when he realized that the lights had been open the entire time.

"Hey Matt, long day huh?" his cheeky little brother teasingly sang from where he sat on the dinner table facing the door very clearly waiting for his return.

"Uh hey?" He's surprised alright, but even more so suspicious to find him there. He kicked his shoes off and pointed at him. "Should you be here?"

TK shrugged. "Eh. Mom won't be home until nine, so I thought I'd pay my favorite person in the world a much needed visit." He threw him that devious grin of his, heightening his suspicion tenfold.

"I just saw you this morning. You ditched me," he deadpanned.

"So! What did I miss in last couple of hours of your life?"

Matt opened the fridge and began to check for what was not expired. "Nothing happened. We just ate and talked and ate some more."

" _Oooh._ Talked about what exactly?" his shit eating grin widening with his every word.

"Life in general," he mused absentmindedly. "And you being a huge flirt," he added.

" _Interesting_ and thank you for noticing." He waved him off before switching to what he assumed to be his whole agenda of showing up unannounced. "Does this mean you're finally gonna man up and confess tomorrow?"

"Uh no. I told you already. I'm not humiliating myself out there."

"Why not? It's just a button, you're not asking her to marry you. In fact, I'm giving mine to Kari tomorrow."

"Right. Coz giving it to your childhood best friend counts as being sweet and totally not playing it safe at all."

"Nope, this the real deal. I'm confessing to her tomorrow."

That made him pause his digging, closing the fridge now to face the adolescent boy behind him.

"Whatever happened to 'we're just friends'?"

"I guess we could continue to be, but I'd rather let her know now before this soccer jock does it before me."

 _Hah._ " _Okay._ At first you were convincing, but now you're just shitting me."

"Hey, he's real alright. Name is Motomiya Daisuke. You can check with Tai, if you don't believe me."

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing any of this?"

"Oh. Well, he has this kinda freaky sister who's really into you and I mean crazily wants to get into your pants kind, so I've been trying to avoid bringing that up..." TK might've noticed how the color was beginning to drain from his face. "Anyway! Not important! My point is, do I have my beloved brother's blessing on this?"

"Uhm…Honestly? I don't know, TK. I mean Kari's great and all, no objections there. But aren't you both a bit too young to be thinking about this? I mean shouldn't you at least wait for _your_ graduation?"

"Matt, I like her _now._ I don't need a couple of more years to sort out my feelings. I don't think waiting that long would change any of this."

 _Oh._

"What about you? How much more do you intend to wait? Us, best friends tend to call first dibs, the longer you take to get your shit together."

"It's complicated. First of all, Kari doesn't like this other guy back does she?"

"Not that I know of?"

"There you have it. You have the upper hand in this one. Go get her, tiger."

"So wait you mean to tell me that all that's stopping you is because you think she likes Tai?"

"I _believe_ she does. She's just doesn't know it yet."

" _Okaaay."_

"But the way she acts around him and talks about him says it all. You have to be as dense as Tai not to see it."

" _Right._ "

"So it's no business of mine to tell her about what I feel, if she clearly likes someone else."

"Tai doesn't like her that way though, that much is obvious to us."

"What Tai thinks has nothing to do with it, TK. I'm not about to sabotage my friendship with her when I know full well what the outcome of blurting out my feelings will be."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Matt. But don't you think that maybe you're just projecting your fear of rejection towards her having hypothetical feelings for Tai?"

He blinked at his little brother trying to process if that was meant to come across as a healthy advice, a direct insult to his face, or both at the same time.

"I _do not_ have a fear of rejection, you little shit."

"Of course you don't. You have an adorable, baby brother and a rabid army of crazy chicks who love you just the way you are."

"Fuck you, man. Get out of here already!"

* * *

Tai opened the door to his room and fell face first into his bed. _He was so fucking tired._ He doubts he's ever been this tired in his entire life even after all those years of soccer practice and pro athlete workouts.

That girl was _nuts_. He wonders how his laid back, home buddy pal Izzy ever pictured himself to be able to keep up with that bouncing ball of hyperactive energy. Man, love sure is blind, when regardless of all the idiosyncrasies, you're still left pining for the good in the other.

"Hey Tai, did you just get back?" His sister gently opened the door and peeked at his half dead body sprawled across the bed.

"Yeaah… My back aches. I'm never ever stepping into that hellhole again. My kids would just have to suck it up and live without any of that 'magic' in their lives."

"Sounds like Mimi had fun then."

"She _better_ have."

"Oh yeah, you know we ran into Sora today. She was about to have lunch alone, but then luckily Matt was with us, and he volunteered to join her."

" _I know._ " His lifeless body cried in agony, his voice muffled by the pillow in his face.

"You know I heard something interesting from TK today. Did you know that Matt has always liked Sora? He had a crush on her ever since they met at that summer camp you guys went to."

This time he pushed himself off the bed to face his sister. " _What?!_ "

"I know right. It's so cute! It's almost like love at first sight. I never knew Matt was that romantic."

"Hold on, Kari! Are you saying TK just told you all this?"

"Yep. To be honest, I swear he just told me in hopes of trading secrets about you. Lately he's been actively fishing about your actual relationship with Sora. Apparently it's all done to help his brother!"

"Well what did you tell him?" he all but blurted to his sister.

"I told him that you guys are just best friends. Like us. And that _obviously_ you don't like her that way."

First Mimi and now his own sister? Had he really been that huge of a dick to Sora?

"W-Why 'obviously'?" he was almost too afraid to ask.

"Well… I don't know I just never got the impression that you liked her, Tai. I mean the girls you usually like are… _very different_."

Bless his kind sister's soul for never dissing his taste on shallow women.

"And didn't you always get Sora to help you, whenever you wanted to date the girls in her team? I heard from TK that she helped you get in touch with that girl you confessed to the other day. I mean _obviously_ you wouldn't do _that_ , if you liked _her_ instead."

 _Damn._

It finally clicked why Sora was so upset with him. It was the last week of their high school days and all he could think about was missing his chance on confessing to this hot girl in her tennis team. He pestered Sora for days until she finally caved and agreed to set him up, just so he can give that damn button already.

He never knew how much anxiety she herself has been going through, because he was too busy being infatuated with a girl he couldn't even remember today. He never knew that these last few days together meant so much to her, since she's moving far away from her home, from her mother, from all her friends, from _him_.

She never told him any of this...

But she told Mimi.

And, he sure as hell bet, she told Matt as well by now.

He had been such an ass for neglecting her. It should come as no surprise that she didn't feel the need to bother him with her own problems. She probably thought he's moved on and replaced her with this girl already before she's even gone!

His gaze shifted to the FC Tokyo soccer uniform hanged on the door of his room. He received it in advance after being admitted to Tokyo University with a sports scholarship program. The team had been very excited to have him and made it a point to send him his soccer kit prior to the start of the school year.

Sora has been the most excited upon first hearing the news of his admittance, maybe even more so than his family. She knew it was his lifelong dream. She'd ask him to wear that uniform and send pictures to her so that she can brag to people how her best friend was part of the primary soccer team in the country. And even after moving to a different city with hours apart from each other, she never missed any of his big games in the past.

 _She always made it known how important he was to her._

"Tai...? Uhm… Was I wrong to tell him that?"

"No, Kari. You were right. Everything you said about me was right. I have to make it up to her somehow. I can't let her keep thinking she's inferior to some girl I barely know, when she's—"

He managed to stop himself short, but his sister knew him well enough to understand the rest.

"Oh…" Kari eyed him in realization and happily clapped her hands together. "I see! You should tell her tomorrow, Tai! I'm sure she'll be so happy!"

"I will, sis."

* * *

Sora squinted her eyes in the sea of people across the packed soccer field. Their graduation rites just ended and the truly exciting part of the night was about to start with the gigantic stage all setup in the middle. The school commissioned Matt's high school band to throw a year end performance as a form of after party for the graduating seniors that year. Honestly though, she believes it was done to make the students sit through the whole ceremony more than anything else.

The color of blonde catches her eye in the crowd. "TK! Hey! I've been looking for you!"

Sora runs up to the unsuspecting boy and hands him a bouquet she carelessly put together herself from her mother's shop. In the end she still felt terrible for having Matt pay. She thought that if she presented the flowers as a congratulatory gift for his final concert, then he was more likely to accept it as payment. "Can you please give this to your brother for me?"

"Wow it's beautiful, Sora! Sure thing! But wouldn't you rather be the one to hand it over to him? I can get you in their room if you want!"

"Oh no, that's fine. He must be busy, and I'm actually looking for someone else in this crowd. So yeah, just wish him luck for me ok?"

And she dived right back into the sea.

* * *

"What do you mean you're not doing it?!" Tai screamed at his friend amidst the crowded field. "Izzy, Matt fucking ripped me off by five thousand yen just so I can get you in here!"

"So? Add it to the glaring pile of princess makeover bills you mailed to my house. Forget it, Tai. I'm not doing it. This is social suicide."

"Since when were you big on being social?!" Tai yelled in exasperation.

"Listen Tai. I appreciate what you're doing, man. And I'll pay you back as soon as I get my paycheck. But let's face it. She's moving, and nothing I say or do would change that. Just because I give her some tiny trinket now won't rewrite the fact that we're meant to live two separate lives down the line."

He let out a big sigh and faced his hopeless friend. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, _but what the fuck._ There's this friend I have who's like the most logical person I know. He'd never take high risk chances based on bad numbers or low probabilities he's computed with his big brain of his."

"He sounds like such a bore," Izzy deadpanned.

Tai rolled his eyes. "The point is one day he falls in love with this girl so opposite to him that it freaked him out. Hell, I can picture him taking those online compatibility tests to get a hold of how absurd the idea was."

" _Lame_. Do you know how RNG-based those things are? I bet I can easily code a more intelligent version if I—"

"Literally didn't understand what you just said." He abruptly cut his friend off before the topic completely diverted to another alien language.

" _Anyway_ , this guy did his best to up his chances. He started to put more effort on how he dressed. He tried to get into her crazy interests. He saw how this was not as hard as he thought it would be. That _they_ actually had a chance, no matter how small he initially thought it was."

"Then one day he found out that she was moving. And suddenly all the odds were stacked against him once again. The distance, the time zones, the separate direction of their lives, all these factors led him to think that their gap was now insurmountable. So he gave up. Not even bothering to keep in touch."

Izzy's eyes fell on the floor as he went on.

"To this day, this guy couldn't bring himself to try again. He ended up alone and miserable. All because he was too chicken to move past the numbers, the distance, the absurdity of it all. He let this girl he liked get away."

He paused to let his words sink in to his friend's ears.

"Do you hear what I'm saying, Izzy? You're a freaking tech wiz, and we live in a century ruled by these pocket-sized alarm clocks."

"You mean your _phone_." Izzy now looked up, grin beginning to form in his face thanks to his friend's saddening tech illiteracy.

" _Exactly_ ," he grinned back. "She might be oceans away tomorrow, but now she's right over _there_."

Tai points at the distinctly bright pink image he saw at corner of his eyes. Izzy turns to look at where he's pointing and sees Mimi and Sora snuggly hugging and posing for a picture that his sister Kari was taking for them.

He finds himself staring at Sora as he continued to speak. "And…. if you don't do anything about it, then you only have yourself to blame."

Izzy clicks his tongue and turns to face him again. " _Fine_. I get it, Tai."

Tai beamed at his friend's change of heart. "Good! Now get your ass out there and win her over—!"

"This ' _friend'_ of yours." Izzy cut in. "You're referring to yourself aren't you?"

He blinked at that. "Huh?"

"And this girl who got away. It's Sora isn't it?"

 _What._

"No. No. No. No. You totally missed the point. DAMMIT! Lemme start over!"

"Look Tai, I grew up with you two being my only non-forum friends for the longest time. Believe me when I say I can read between your not-so-subtle lines."

He stopped himself and realized there was no winning when it came to fooling the smartest boy in the planet. "So…. You knew I liked Sora?"

"I do, Tai. And I want you guys to get together so bad."

"Dude, Izzy, you're the best! You have no idea how glad I am to know my genius pal has always been part of Team Tai—!"

"— _So bad_ , that I don't mind being the third wheel."

"Huh? You're not a third wheel, Izzy!" Tai cried out in dismay. "Frankly, I always pictured that to be Matt…. But not _you_ man! You're like our small-but-terrible genius sidekick."

"Tai," Izzy puts his hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezes hard. " _I'm_ the quintessential third wheel to you and Sora. Matt has _nothing_ on what I've been through. We've done countless sleepovers in _my house_ where you guys still managed to make me feel like the third wheel."

"That's insane, Izzy! You're being insane!"

"You're talking to your smartest friend by a mile, dude. I think it's pretty clear which of us is being insane."

Tai chuckles at the legitimacy of his friend's humble brag. "Since when did you know?"

"Since I first met you both." Izzy shrugs nonchalantly at him.

"That was when you were ten!"

"No, _you_ were ten. I was nine then. What I knew by the age of ten was the existence of competitive programming."

Tai opened his mouth to protest, but Izzy was long past listening to him talk.

"What I don't know to this day, Tai, is why you keep distracting yourself with all these other girls, when, as you put it, 'she's right over there'."

Tai nods sheepishly at Izzy's quick comeback to his pep talk, accepting the much needed criticism he's sure his friend had been dying to voice out since he was "nine".

"So here's my proposal. I'll go out there and publicly shame myself, if and only if you promise to do the same with Sora."

Tai found himself smiling at his friend's sudden surge of confidence. "Deal! Shake on it."

Izzy takes his extended hand and shakes it firmly. Then he gulped. "Okay. It's done then. We're _really_ doing this. We're both going down in blazing jets like a pair of boneheaded idiots. My parents would be _so_ _proud_."

"Hey," Tai put his hand on Izzy's shoulder and shakes him. "Aren't they always?"

Izzy laughs to himself. "That's what I'm afraid of. They'll spoil _her_ even more."

* * *

Sora momentarily left Mimi and Kari to once again try her luck on looking for the one person she's been meaning to talk to before the night ended.

"Hitomi!"

"Sora?"

"Hey, sorry I've been busy lately. About that letter you wanted me to hand over. If you still have it, I'll do it for you."

"Oh actually, I think I'm fine doing that myself now. I just wanted to check with you first given how close you two are. I didn't wanna make a move on him, if you two happened to have a thing going on. But now that you offered, it's ok right?"

"Yeah. Absolutely! And come on we're just friends. You should go see him now. He'd be so happy to know you like him too."

"You really think so? Thanks Sora! Hearing that from you makes me a little less nervous to be honest!"

Hitomi warmly embraces her, and she realizes then what a big liar she was. For all of sudden, she couldn't bring herself to hug a complete stranger.

* * *

Matt is languidly tuning his bass guitar, sitting with his leg propped up to support the instrument, when the door opened revealing his little brother carrying a rather decorated bouquet of flowers.

" _Wow_. You're not playing it subtle at all are you? Kari would be so in love that I can actually see Tai murdering you."

"No, Matt. This is for _you_." His brother shoves the bouquet in his lap. "From _Sora_ ," he emphasized.

He blinked at that. Letting the guitar slide to his side, righting his position to examine the flowers closer.

"She told me to wish you good luck out there."

His first suspicion was that TK good-naturedlly bought these flowers to trick him into thinking they were from her. Upon further inspection though, he noticed the unkempt leaves and the unevenly cut stems and smiled . Not only were they indeed from her, but she must have also arranged it herself.

"Seriously, Matt. I shouldn't be doing this in the first place. You're way too old to need my advice in this matter. But god help me, if you don't go out there and tell her by the end of the night, I'll do it myself!"

His heart drummed making him glance down to the tightly sewn button still planted on his chest, then a sharp knock on the door disrupted his thoughts.

* * *

Sora wonders how long she could hide in this roof deck before Mimi panics and starts looking for her. She wasn't exactly anticipating to go back and mingle with the concert crowd, especially if there was a high chance of her running into Tai with his new girlfriend draped around him.

It was done. She did the right thing. In less than a month she won't be around anymore, so who was she to stand in the way of two people who wanted to get together?

It was a selfish thought to begin with, thinking that he'd always be there for her first and no one else. He had gone and provided his unwavering moral support for her throughout their decade long friendship, and now he was off to do the same for other people. Maybe even for their country someday, given that he had this dream of entering the political world. He was that kind of selfless guy. He always left an impact on others. He was born to be a leader. He was too good to be held back by one selfish girl.

Stupid Tai.

In the past week leading to this day, they haven't spoken to each other, let alone saw each other much. She imagined he had been too busy discussing his next move on Hitomi with his bro squad. On her part, she really thought it would be easier to say goodbye this way, so she left him alone too. It would lessen the blow of suddenly having him gone from her life, the sooner they stopped hanging out every minute of everyday of their lives.

She's been debating if she even _needed_ to see him before the night ended. And if she did what would she say?

" _Good luck in your first open season."_

" _Congrats on your new girlfriend."_

" _Go out there and change the world."_

None of those sounded sincere somehow.

The sound of the exit door swinging open startled her. She quickly wiped her face and turned to face the figure who's heavily panting from the rapid ascent up the stairs.

"Matt."

She wasn't expecting anyone to find her there. Let alone him of all people.

"What are you doing here?"

He took a long moment of just staring at her while he put an effort to still his breathing. Then he spoke. "This is the sacred meeting ground. You come here when you have something to say and not be judged by it."

She studied him perplexedly. "Okay…? If you're expecting someone, then I should probably go."

" _Wait._ "

He walks closer to her now and opened his mouth to say something, only to shut it once more when he scrutinized her face.

"Why are you crying?"

It didn't escape her that his question immediately demanded a reason, skipping past the typical "are you crying". She turns away from him facing the distant horizon grabbing onto the cold railing.

"I'm _not_ crying," she weakly denies.

She heard him hum lowly and take the spot next to her, leaning his back against the railing, propping his elbows on it.

"You're allowed to say it. You hate the bitch."

She jerked at his words. "Where did _that_ come from?"

He remained immobile next to her. "Please, I'm not as dumb as Tai."

She sighed and tried to explain herself once more. "She's my teammate, and he's my best friend. I am nothing else but supportive."

"Except you're not, because deep down you're jealous. And a liar. You _do_ like Tai."

His constant barrage regarding this "crush" was beginning to get on her nerves. "Haven't we've been through this?" She countered aggressively.

"It seems like you've failed to convince me after all," he monotonously replied.

"He likes her enough to give her that stupid button, and she's persistent enough to harass me for days just to get to him. That's easily more than what I can say for myself, if I really 'liked' him. Don't you think?"

"That tradition is downright outdated and misogynistic. Like you said things ought to work _both ways_ , and to her credit Hitomi's definitely got that part _all_ figured out." He produces a piece of brightly pink paper from his shirt pocket.

Her eyes widened.

 _No. It couldn't be the same one._

She knew that envelope all too well that she didn't need to ask where he got it from. The real question was _why_ it was with _him_.

"She gave that… to _you_?"

"Yep."

He was looking at her directly now as if waiting for a particular reaction from her. The intensity of his sky blue eyes made her drop her gaze. That was when she unconsciously caught sight of his shirt and the gaping hole left behind by the missing button.

 _Oh._

 _Ohhh._

"Ah. I get it now. Good for you, Matt. Guess that worked out _splendidly_ for both of you then," she retorted no longer able to mask the blatant bitterness of her words. The initial irritability she felt towards him evaporated only to be replaced with a pang of betrayal that's far too raw than she's willing to admit.

"Hmm. Not quite." He nonchalantly flips the envelope back and forth once then proceeds to tear it in half in front of her.

She gasps at the suddenness of his action, at the audacity of it. "H-How dare you do that?! That girl poured her feelings into writing that letter! Did you even read it?!"

"Oh cut the bullshit, Sora. Like you really care if I read it. You're just happy to know that she doesn't like Tai, and I know for a fact that you've been _dying_ to see me do that!"

 _What?_

His sudden hostility threw her off guard. "No, _you_ cut the bullshit, Matt! You don't know the first thing about me, so stop acting like you do!"

He snorted. "Maybe. After all I don't have the benefit of knowing you since childhood. Tell me how'd that work out so far for you and your _best friend_?"

Crash. Land. _Burn._

"Did you really think you were venting on deaf ears yesterday? I've been paying attention in case you haven't noticed. In fact, I've been paying attention for _years_ , Sora."

She found herself clinging harder to the railings, balancing her pride as he went on with his sermon.

"You put up this nice image of pretending to care for people you don't really give a shit about. At the expense of what? Your own feelings? Does any of this make you feel better about yourself?"

She has nothing to say to that and just looks up at the night sky preventing her tears from spilling out, sniffling pathetically. She could almost see him silently judging her at the corner of her eyes.

" _Fine._ You want to know why I'm crying? I'm crying out of _self pity,_ Matt. I'm crying, because my mom picked some stupid competition over the one day her daughter gets to go up the stage. I'm crying, because the only gal pal I have is moving to the opposite end of the world. I'm crying, because in less than a month _I'd_ be gone, and all the people I _genuinely_ care about are bound to forget about me!"

She exhales audibly and sniffed ungracefully through her flared nostrils. "So yeah, some _'bitch'_ wanting to get into Tai's pants are the _least_ of my problems right now. If anything, she's just another factor contributing to how my best friend would inevitably outgrow me."

In her peripheral vision she can see his outstretched hand, offering a handkerchief. She stubbornly kept ignoring him, that he had to literally grab her hand and put it there.

"It feels good doesn't it? Letting it out."

She swallowed her pride and finally wiped her tears with the offending piece of cloth.

"Was that 'convincing' enough for you now? I'm terrible. Everyone's moving on with their lives, and all I can think of is that I'm no longer a part of it."

"We both know that's a lie. Tai won't forget about you just coz of some girl _._ "

She snorts in contempt through her labored breathing and he went on. "But even if he does." She held the crumpled cloth in her shaking hands, damped with tears.

" _I won't."_

She blinked at the implication of his words. Slowly she turned to find him looking at her, determined sky blue eyes bored down on distraught burgundy ones. She struggled to maintain eye contact this time, not wanting him to see how unnerved she truly was. And for a good couple of seconds, she thinks it's working, then he pushed himself off the railings.

"Look, if you don't want to lose him, then tell him that."

"Tell him _what_ exactly? Don't forget your clingy friend Sora when she moves to Kyoto?"

"That works. This is Tai. You want to keep it as elementary as possible."

"What if he laughs at my face?"

"Then I'll punch his teeth in."

"What if he downright unfriends me."

"Then he's an even bigger idiot than what we make him out to be."

"What if—"

The sound of his phone going off drowned her voice. He took the call and told the caller that he would be back down in five and she suddenly felt guilty on taking up what she assumed to be his precious concert preparation time.

"You should go, Matt. Wouldn't want to keep the ladies waiting."

"And you? Isn't there someone waiting for you down there too?"

When she made no response, the door swung open again.

"I'll see you in the crowd. Alright?" And he shuts the door behind him.

 _What if it's too late._

He heard it loud and clear. And honestly, it might as well be for him. Especially when he couldn't even follow his own advice and tell her what he came to say.

* * *

Sora eventually did leave her comfortable nest, now aimlessly wandering around the concert grounds. She grew a little concerned when Mimi, who explicitly told her to expect extra clinginess that night, didn't even send her a single text in the last hour she had been gone. She tried looking for any signs of bright pink in the vicinity, when suddenly she caught sight of the most endearing spectacle that night.

The brightest, happiest shade of pink was jumping up and down in glee next to Izzy who's blushing as red as a tomato. Izzy was in the process of reciting some heartfelt dedication which Mimi kept cutting him in the middle of by squealing uncontrollably. In the end he seemed to have just given up with the speech and presented her with his open palm, which the girl totally ignored when she all out glomped him.

Sora found herself smiling at the sight of her friend whom she knew deep down was equally dreading showing up tonight. Unlike her, Mimi wouldn't even share the pleasure of graduating with the classmates she grew up with. Being a year lower than them, she hardly knew anyone in the venue. Mimi knew that this night was not to celebrate her at all, and yet she volunteered to be there for her best friend anyway. Sora made a mental note to thank Izzy later for making her dear friend's official last day in school very special.

"Sora."

 _Dammit_.

She couldn't face him after all, not when the mere mention of her name is already bringing tears to her eyes. She inhaled to regain her composure and turned to look at him.

"Tai."

Just as Tai was about to open his mouth to speak again, the crowd around them suddenly went wild. The bright flashing lights on the concert stage spun to illuminated the night sky. The people around them all rushed to get as close as they could to the source of the commotion.

In the distance, she saw Matt front and center pick up the microphone on the stage. She noticed how his gaze flickered to the crowd, until they landed to her and Tai's direction. He smiled at them, once more sending the crowd into a wild frenzy.

"Good evening, everyone." His voice too holy for his cult of fangirls to miss out on, shut them up instantly.

"To end this amazing year, I'd like to dedicate this final song to the one person whose importance to me, I'm hopelessly, _cowardly_ unable to put into words. May this song reach you where you are."

He counts down to the drummer, then the electric guitar took off.

* * *

She knew this song. She knew it pretty well actually.

It was loud, repetitive even, and the lyrics were simple enough.

 _In this painted galaxy there are things we never see  
_

 _In this world that is so blue, I will sing aloud for you._

 _So these feelings ever small could reach out and say it all.  
_

 _To a you that's all alone, in a world all of your own._

It was by no means a Knife of Day original. In fact, it was a highly popular mainstream song. A song that's been covered to death by aspiring amateurs and all the biggest names alike.

You could hear it in the radio, in the streets, in the cafes, in the subways. You could hear it all over the country, if you listened close enough. It was that kind of universal anthem that echoed across their love swept generation.

 _How much time has passed us by, since we met under that sky?_

 _All the words we write and say, just grow stronger everyday._

 _And I pray that they'll resound, in our hearts and echo loud._

 _Even if it brings us pain, struck with sorrow we'll remain.  
_

She's certain though that she had never heard it sang as beautifully, as emotionally as his rendition right now.

 _They will echo far away, to a new and distant place._

 _With this simple melody, we can change our world today!_

She chuckled, knowing he most definitely intended this number to be a passive aggressive shout out to her. His voice peaked with momentum and urged her to gain the courage she lacked on facing the very person standing right next her.

 _Hey, look!_

 _The one you hold so dear has always been beside you_

 _So close, and yet so far away_

 _All that, I need within this life, is just to somehow reach you,_

 _And let my song of love convey_

She turned and smiled at him.

 _Hey now…_

She found him smiling back at her.

 _Look now…_

She took a deep breath.

 _Hear now…_

And took the first step in closing their distance.

 _The sound of our little love song._

He is trying to tell her something now, but the crowd around them began to sing and clap along with Matt. She puts both hands at the back of her ears and screams that she couldn't understand him.

 _Even if we lose our way, into darkness we should stray  
_

 _There is still the shining moon, giving light to all we do.  
_

He too flailed animatedly, pissed by his inability to communicate with words. He tried to point at himself then at her then back at his chest.

 _So I swear I'll understand, never let go of your hand  
_

 _Cause our love is just the start, until death we'll never part.  
_

She furrowed her brows and shook her head, letting him know she still had no idea what he's trying to say. Her amusement gradually increasing in his antics.

 _And this cycle will repeat, all these feelings never cease,  
_

 _But their form may fade with fear, as they turn to bitter tears._

He threw his hands out in frustration, stomped on the ground, and mouthed what could only be a colorful string of profanities to the sky. When not even that worked, he began flashing his middle finger to the crowd, then at Matt on stage.

 _One day though we'll smile again, for our love will never bend  
_

 _We don't even need to speak, just come find your place with me  
_

 _I will hold you ever close, I will hold you ever close._

She laughed heartily at his stupidity and puts up both her hands to form an X sign, signalling for him to stop lest he offends someone.

 _Hey, look!_

 _The one you hold so dear has always been beside you_

 _So close, and yet so far away_

 _All that, I need within this life, is just to somehow reach you,_

 _And let my song of love convey_

 _Hey now…_

 _Look now…_

 _Hear now…_

 _The sound of our little love song._

He rolled his eyes in surrender.

 _If I'm dreaming I just don't want to know_

Then blinking, they brightened with an idea. He quickly fished out his phone. Flipping it open, he very slowly and very forcefully punched in the tiny buttons with his stubby fingers.

 _If I'm dreaming don't you wake me up_

She began scratching her head in doubt. Knowing Tai, this will take awhile. She might as well wait for the song to end.

 _Every moment every second that I spent here by your side_

But then somehow, he's done it in record time. Grinning, he proudly presented the screen to her.

 _Gives me joy no one can hide!_

Her eyes widened at the text.

 **You're the most important person to me.**

She read it once, shut her eyes tightly at the vivid glare, then read it again.

 _Hey, look!_

And again.

 _The one you hold so dear_

And again.

 _Has always been beside you_

She kept rereading those words, until tears began to well up in her eyes. Until she could see nothing as she could hear nothing.

 _So close and yet so far away_

Nothing save for the unified echo of the masses singing along to the chorus of this ubiquitous love song.

 _All that, I need within this life, is just to somehow reach you,_

 _And let my song of love convey_

She brings her hand up to wipe her tears but he wasn't done. He takes her other hand and put in something distinctly metallic in there. He holds her closed fist within his hands, then he looks at her and smiles.

 _Hey, look!_

 _The one you hold so dear has always been beside you_

 _So close and yet so far away_

She struggles to return the gesture in her teary state, voicelessly repeating back the words he just typed out for her. He nods at her showing he understood. Then he lets go of her closed fist, allowing her to open it.

 _All that, I need within this life, is just to somehow reach you,_

 _And let my song of love convey_

Inside was a tiny lapel pin of an icon she knew by heart.

It was red, and it was blue.

It was the FC Tokyo emblem.

His dream team.

His future team.

His future _..._

 _Hey now…_

It wasn't by any means disposable like the button of a uniform he had recently graduated from. A uniform he'll no longer be wearing from this point onward in his life. A uniform that was now safe to ruin. A uniform he's _outgrown_.

 _Look now…_

It was something he'd be donning with pride for the foreseeable years to come.

It's what was the most important thing to him.

 _Hear now…_

The badge in her palm shook as her whole body shook at the realization that all her fears of the future had been completely rendered baseless.

At that moment, it didn't matter that her mom wasn't even there, because the most important person was currently standing right next to her.

 _The sound of our little love song._

* * *

"GOD! FUCKING! DAMMIT! FINALLY! We can communicate like humans again! Before anything, I know what you're gonna say: 'It's not a button'. _Duh_. But hear me out."

She's still staring at her open palm so he puts his hands on her shoulder to get her attention. She lifts her eyes to meet his.

"From now on, this will be the only uniform I'll have in my life. And trust me, I tried to find _anything_ I can rip off the damn thing without being instantly expelled from the team. This right here is a pitiful stand-in of the emblem I'll be wearing closest to my heart when I do my big moment of glory runs out in the huge ass stadium."

She furrows her brows, pushes her lips together and struggles to smile, tilting her head signalling for him to continue.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you the real thing. It's kinda sewed in, and you know how mom is like the worst housewife ever. I'd be sure to get tons of questions of how I fucked up my uniform, and then I'd have to tell them that the badge is all the way in Kyoto and..."

He stopped himself noticing how she was now chuckling breathlessly and shaking her head. He never noticed how beautiful her smile was until now. How he wished that he saw this years ago the first time around.

"No." she stills her laughter. "No, Tai. You don't have to say any of that. You just have to point to the roaring crowd and say 'it's over _there_ with that crazy girl waving a banner with my huge face on it!'"

He grinned at the implication of her words. "So you're gonna be that traitor from Kyoto uni who sits in the Tokyo side cheering for me?"

"You bet I am! I'm also gonna be that weirdo who'll have an FC Tokyo badge pinned on me wherever I go around the Kyoto campus."

He was left dumbfounded abundantly touched by her words, a smile slowly forming in his face. She returns his smile and pounces to embrace him, arms wrapped around his shoulder supporting her weight, unable to hold back her tears any longer. He buries his face at the crook of her neck and holds her in place.

"I'll miss you so much, you big idiot. Promise you'll call me okay? I demand weekly updates on your life."

"I doubt I'd have anything interesting to report that often."

"I don't care! You can complain to me all you want about your ingrate cat, as long as you always keep in touch."

He tightens his hold. "Course, I will. We both know nothing's gonna keep me away from you, whether you like it or not."

"Good."

She pushes herself off his chest and the smile she gives him is brimming with pure joy. At that moment he truly believed what he said. That nothing, not even the preordained future he's been dying to reverse could stand in between them.

"SORAAA~! LOOK AT WHAT IZZY GAVE ME~!"

Mimi skipped happily towards them and glomps Sora. She victoriously flashed the tiny button in her friend's face.

"Izzy! That's so sweet of you!"

Izzy followed behind her looking at Sora's teary happy face.

"I imagine Tai was just as 'sweet'?" Izzy said all the while looking incredibly smug at Tai. He rolled his eyes at his all knowing friend.

"He was actually!" Sora proudly replied. Mimi winked at Tai, and he opened his mouth to say something but was cut in upon hearing his sister's voice.

"TAI! Come meet my boyfriend!"

 _Oh good lord._

He totally forgot how this happened on the same day. Had he remembered he might've done some intervention to fix, or eh, for these two's case "delay" the inevitable.

"Hey kid, welcome to the family. That said touch my sister, and I'll break your neck."

"Tai! Be nice!" Sora's stern voice called out on top of Mimi's giddy outbursts.

TK sidestepped away from Tai and casually approach Sora. "Hey Sora, did you get a chance to speak with Matt? He said he wanted to personally thank you for the flowers."

"Oh come on, that was _nothing_! Had I known better, I would've thrown in a more thoughtful gift. We should be paying to hear your brother sing, TK! He's _seriously_ outdid himself with that last number. I can't imagine how his fans are gonna allow him to quit after that!"

TK grinned at Sora's very outward appreciation of his brother. "I know right. For a second there, you could really tell he's singing from the heart don't you think?"

* * *

After all the commotion has died. Matt finally frees himself from the raging fangirls to join his friends on their way home. Sora pulls him aside to speak with him.

"I saw what you did there, Mr. Idol."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ms. Fangirl."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Remind me not to pour my heart out the next time you're about to go up the stage, microphone in hand. Seriously and I thought Mimi was bad!" She scolded him though she's seemingly quite amused by what he pulled.

"Oh, you thought I was singing about you?" He feigns to seethe his teeth. "Well this is awkward."

" _Very funny."_

He cleared his throat trying to sound as impartial as possible. "You alright?"

She nodded to herself. "Yeah. I think I will be." She faced him and smiled sweetly. "Your message was heard loud and clear by this hopeless idiot." Then she turns around them. "Much like everyone else present it seems."

They both observed Izzy and Mimi from a distance. Mimi very gleefully and explicitly narrating how cute Izzy was when he came up to her. Tai looks at their direction and gives them a thumbs up too proud of his own setup. Sora twists her finger in the air and points back at him telling him he's being silly again. Then she turns to TK and Kari's direction seeing TK now has his arm wrapped around Kari's shoulder.

"Damn, I should've asked you to bet on that one."

"Didn't you just nag me for extorting money from Tai?"

"It doesn't have to involve money, what I had in mind was something like hearing you sing again someday. That was an _extremely_ beautiful performance, Matt. It's too bad you'll quit altogether in uni."

He blushed at her blatant praise for him and decided to push his luck further. "You've done it, Sora."

"Huh?"

"You've finally convinced me." She furrowed his brows at him and he smirked. "Seeing me up there must've awakened all these mixed feelings huh? No wonder Tai is chopped liver to you now."

" _Wow._ And here I thought the attention never got into your head." She countered in clear amusement.

"You're making it hard not to." His smirk widened.

" _Sure_. You have your bleating fans to thank for that. I think I've permanently damaged my hearing back there."

"See the lengths I go through for you? Feels like I got myself enshrined by a whole new cult overnight."

"Here's a thought do a public service announcement that says 'I like lard in my eggs'. That ought to send them running."

He chuckled at her. "You're such a godsend, Takenouchi Sora."

"I know. How are you guys gonna survive without me?"

She noticed Matt's expression shift from smiling to solemn but before he could say something Mimi glomps her from behind. Apologizing to her for the other day. And ugly crying saying she'll miss her like crazy. That she couldn't meet with her in a posh restaurant because she's sure she'd balled her eyes out in public. Sora starts crying too, reaching in her pocket to fish out the handkerchief Matt lent her earlier only to find something else.

 _Eh?_

She puts her fingers around it and rolls it in her palm.

Yep. It was definitely a button.

 _Where did that come from?_

She tries to recount all the interactions she had that night that would led her to come into the possession of this mysterious button.

Then the glaring hole in Matt's uniform flashed to her mind. She finds herself looking at his retreating form suspiciously. At first she assumed he just gave it to Hitomi after she confessed, but clearly that was _not_ the case.

Still…

It couldn't be the same one.

 _Right?_


End file.
